


into the garden (and don't look back)

by timefornothing



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Pixies, and niall's a stable boy, harry's a cook, kind of, larry stylinson - Freeform, liam is kind of in charge of everything, nothing too crazy happens, pixie!louis, they're all humans at first
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-20
Updated: 2014-03-20
Packaged: 2018-01-16 10:03:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1343470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timefornothing/pseuds/timefornothing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn never would have guessed that being sent away by his parents every summer would lead to so much fun. And never would he have guessed that he would fall in love with a creature that he thought only existed in his drawings: a petite, polite pixie named Perrie.</p><p>or the one where Zayn's a clumsy guy and he pulls he and Liam into a faerie ring and then their lives are changed forever when they meet two pixies named Perrie and Louis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	into the garden (and don't look back)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay the summary is shitty but it's good I promise.
> 
> Well kind of. My sister was rushing me to finish this (so there's probably some typos) but oh well here you go.
> 
> I actually kind of totally love pixie!louis, and he definitely does not have a strawberry kink (maybe)

Zayn Malik had always been good at entertaining himself.

He was the grandson of two of the wealthiest people this side of the river, and they had never been short of gifts to please their only grandson, who was set to inherit their estate. Sure, that meant mostly books and paper and quills and pens and pencils and art supplies, but they supported his love for the dying arts anyways. Besides, they were rich and he could pretty much do whatever he wanted. His parents, on the other hand, weren’t so supportive, and always tried to pressure him into finding a more sensible job. Once he was 15 and pretty much set in his ways, they gave up and sent him away every summer.

But he loved being sent away more than anything else.

See, Zayn’s grandparents lived in a beautiful southern estate, complete with its own staff, stables, and gardens. They weren’t too into excess though, so they only had one cook and her apprentice, two maids, a butler, a grounds manager and his nephew, and a stable hand and his son. However, they hated the “muggy” temperature as they called it over the summer, so they took their main staff with them and left for their summer home in Jamaica. Zayn fell in love every time he visited, and begged his parents to visit more often.

So, in an effort to get rid of their “lazy” and “undedicated” son every summer, they sent him off to the estate he was to inherit every year since he was 15.

Zayn soon fell head over heels for the rich and plentiful gardens. Even on the hottest days, he would take his sketchbook and supplies and sit and draw for hours on end. When it was raining, he would sit in the dayroom overlooking the grounds and write. Since he was left there by himself most of the time, he soon became friends with the few staff persons his grandparents left there to watch over the estate while they were gone.

First in his heart was Liam. 

Liam was only a year younger than him, and was the nephew of the man who was in charge of the grounds. Since he was 8, he had been learning from his elderly uncle how to manage the staff, keep up with the gardening, clean the house and run a tight schedule. He took his job seriously, even at that young of an age, and was very good at it. But even with all of his worries and stresses of deadlines, he always had time for Zayn, and they became the closest of friends.

Niall was the Irishman in charge of the stables, and he did more eating than cleaning. The blonde boy was the same age as Zayn and his mouth ran a mile a minute, all the while pulling everyone in around him with a charismatic air that almost made Zayn jealous. His laugh was loud and made you smile, and he had a true passion for the horses he looked after—even singing to them at night as he played his guitar, which you could hear all around the grounds, much to his father’s displeasure.

Niall, when he wasn’t in the stables or pastures, was in the kitchens, hanging around the cooks. They loved him and his attitude, and Zayn, Liam, and Niall had become fond of the quirky young man who was the cook’s apprentice, and was in charge of their meals for the summer.

Harry was a couple years younger, but you’d never guess it with his kind and mature demeanor. He may have a strange choice in clothing and jokes, but he was one of the kindest people Zayn had ever met. And not only did they get along great, but he cooked some of the best food that Zayn had ever eaten. Roasts, cakes, pies, even stir fry, it was simply the best. So, more often than not, instead of eating in his grandparent’s fancy dining room, they would gather in the staff quarters, the four of them, and eat and share stories until they absolutely needed to go to bed. Some nights, Niall or Harry would be able to sneak some liquor from the adults and they’d drink that, laughing with each other into odd hours of the night.

It was how Zayn spent every summer since he was 15, and he loved nothing more than that.

 

 

“Liam, come on, it’s a gorgeous day.”

Liam laughed, glancing up from where he was working on the hedges that lined the front driveway. “Never did I ever plan on hearing Zayn Malik telling me that we needed to go do something. What, do your paints and pens finally bore you?”

Zayn smirked, shoving his hands in his pockets. “No. I just need to go be inspired. And you promised last year we’d go explore the woods some more, but we never did.”

Liam sighed, looking at the bushes he wasn’t done trimming. It was the first week of the summer, was he really about to start slacking off already? His shoulders, already tan from working outside nearly year round, stretched out his t-shirt, and combined with the beard he hadn’t bothered shaving for a couple weeks, he looked much older than 20. His deep brown eyes gazed over the uneven bushes, worried.

“Liam Payne. If you say one thing about slacking off, I’m going to strangle you.” Zayn said flatly, eyebrows raised. His dark eyes, almost black, watched him with an amused look from his tan face.

Liam smiled again. Zayn’s always been able to read him better than anyone else. “But the hedges need finished—“

“It’s noon, yeah?” Zayn asked, interrupting him. Confused, Liam nodded, and Zayn continued, “And if I’m not mistaken, the hedges are always the last thing you do on your list, because you absolutely hate doing them so you put it off till the end.”

Liam laughed again, “Caught me there.”

“So the hedges will still be here when we get back! If anything, it’d be nice to do them once the sun’s set more, yeah? It’ll be cooler.” Zayn told him, looking at him pleadingly. “Come on, let’s go explore that section of the woods behind the pastures. You wouldn’t let us out there when we were younger.”

“Oh, so now that you’re 21, I should just start letting you do whatever you want?” Liam scoffed, hands on his hips.

Zayn simply shot him a dazzling smile. “Babe, I’ve been doing whatever I want since I was 17.” Liam laughed, and Zayn pulled on his arm, “Come on, let’s go. I bet Niall’s in the kitchens anyways, so you and I can go without him bugging us.” It wasn’t that Niall bothered them, it was just hard to shake the guy off once he began following because his curiosity was insatiable, and he always wanted to know what was going on. And somehow he always did. Niall always filled them in when he brought supplies back from the town for Harry and Liam, telling them what he’d learned so they could all laugh at the aristocrats that thought of themselves as greater beings.

With reluctance, Liam followed along behind him, constantly teasing him for acting like a child with his excitement about the woods. Ever since he was young, he had loved his grandmother’s stories about the faeries that lived out there, and the tiny creatures were scattered throughout his stories and paintings. He was fascinated with the tales she told. Even when he was older and far grown out of the stories, he still held a sort of respect for the old forest, still marveling at the beauty even if it no longer held the mystical beings he used to believe lived there. The trees grew far overhead and the foliage was green and thick year round, and its endless beauty was still the backdrop for many of the stories he’d written.

Liam and himself had explored nearly every part of these woods by now. The area behind the garden had a small pond if you walked long enough, and Niall had helped them build a few benches out near it so Zayn could sit and paint. Just behind the stables was a large clearing where they had built a fire pit so that they could enjoy the stars at night without getting too cold. Yet, the woods behind the pasture remained a mystery. Niall’s father had always warned against going back there, saying those woods were deeper and darker and more dangerous than the woods near the house. One time, a horse had gotten loose from the pasture and ran back there, and it was never seen again. Zayn’s grandmother had whispered of the Great Witch, but Liam’s uncle had insisted it was wolves.

Now that he was 21, Zayn figured he was old enough to go exploring back there. And besides, it was broad daylight, what could go wrong?

“Oh my God, don’t ever say what could go wrong.” Liam shook his head as they entered in between the trees. “Whenever someone says that, something always goes wrong. Remember when Niall rode the horses drunk?”

Zayn laughed, walking deeper in between the trees. It was much cooler back in the shade, though enough sunlight snuck between the leaves to make it light enough to see where they were going. The green was reflecting all around them, adding a mysterious quality to the surroundings. And it was so quiet: gone were the sounds of the horses in the pasture, gone were the sounds of the estate. It was silence: pure, peaceful silence.

“Li, I love it back here.” Zayn breathed, looking around him in awe.

Liam snorted, “Of course you do, faerie boy.” Zayn spun around to give him a look, but it soon crumpled into a smile as he caught the playful look in Liam’s eye. Liam had loved the stories as well when they were younger, but he had never believed in them the way Zayn had. Always the responsible, mature one, Liam was.

While he was looking backwards, Zayn tripped over something, foot getting tangled up in the undergrowth and sending him smashing face first into the soft moss that covered the floor.

“Z!” Liam called, running forward to help him up. Zayn groaned, brushing off his shoulder as Liam pulled him up by his arm. “Be a little more careful, yeah, twinkletoes?” He smirked, and Zayn was about to tell him off when he froze, staring at the scene before him.

“What the fuck.” Liam turned as well then, freezing as he followed Zayn’s line of sight. 

The forest before them had transformed into something terrible. Where endless amounts of green were only moments before, now stood thousands of dead plants, and the sky was a terrible grey. As he watched, Zayn could see more and more plants dying by the second. Small green lights zipped around them, seeming to slow the process, but they were no match for the larger black orbs that crashed into the ground, sending them scattering. Other orbs of reds and blues and yellows were shooting around in front of them, seeming to aim at a lone figure, the one who was sending out the dark orbs at the plants. 

“What the…” Liam trailed off, eyes wide as he watched what was happening. He tried backing up, but found he couldn’t move any further than two feet. “Zayn! Zayn, we can’t get out!”

Zayn snapped out of it, looking to the ground around them. A circle of mushrooms and tall, dark grass was surrounding them, and he stopped a particularly large clump that looked twisted, and he guessed that must have been what he tripped on. “Liam, this is a faerie ring.”

“Now is not the time for your stories.” Liam spoke in a low voice, and Zayn shook his head.

“Liam, I’m serious! Look at it!” He glanced from the circle to the small orbs of light zooming around them. “These must be the faeries!” They watched again as the lone figure turned around, eyes narrowing as she spotted them. Her long, dark hair was twisted around her shoulders, fluttering lightly whenever an orb of light zoomed too close. She raised her hand, pointing at them. 

“Zayn!” Liam shouted, eyes wide as a black orb began forming around her hand, growing larger the more she spoke. They couldn’t hear what she was saying over the howling wind and the hundreds of tiny screams, but it looked threatening.

Just as the orb had almost reached the circle and Liam was absolutely positive they were going to die, a purple streak of lightning interfered, sending it into an already dead tree. Liam’s breath froze in his chest, watching as the tree shattered. “That could have been us…” He whispered, still standing in front of Zayn protectively.

A purple orb, larger and brighter than all the others, zoomed nearer to them, followed closely by another large purple orb and two smaller ones, one rosy pink and the other a bright blue. Zayn thought he could almost hear them shouting to one another.

With a snarl, he saw the witch beginning to build up a larger orb, although this one was a disgusting green color, the same color of a wilting plant. With a shout, she sent it towards the four orbs in front of them. There was a loud shout, and the smaller blue orb shoved the two purple orbs out of the way before it collided with the pink and blue orb, sending them flying backwards towards Liam and Zayn.

Liam shouted, turning his back to the orb flying towards them and crouching over Zayn, just managing to block him before the dark green orb—now the size of a small person—collided with them at an uncanny speed, knocking the wind out of Liam as it hit him square in the back and sent them flying back the way they came.

There was a large flash of light, and when Zayn looked up from where he lay underneath Liam on the ground, the battle they had witnessed was no longer surrounding them. Instead, all he could really make out in the now dark forest was two people laying in front of him.

With a groan, Liam rolled off of him, still trying to catch his breath. Zayn scrambled up, leaning over him. Liam would most definitely have a rather large bruise tomorrow. And the hedges definitely were not getting done tonight.

“Why is it so dark?” Liam wheezed, looking above Zayn. He shrugged, helping Liam to sit up.

“Time passes differently in faerie circles, remember? It felt like five minutes, but it was more likely five hours.”

“It’d have been nine.” Liam groaned, rubbing his head. “The sun sets at nine, not five. And you’re welcome, by the way.”

Zayn snorted, but a groan from a few feet away stopped him. He and Liam stared at the two people laying beside them, eyes wide.

“Why are they naked?” Liam whispered, and Zayn responded, “Who even are they?”

One of them shrieked, sitting upwards abruptly. His tousled brown hair had a few leaves stuck in it, but he was more concerned with standing up and glancing around him, shouting, “Al! Lessa! Layna!”

“What the hell is he saying?” Liam asked Zayn, and the man spun around to look at them, bright blue eyes wide and wild.

“Who are you two? Identify yourself!” he shouted, holding out his hand in the same manner the witch had only moments earlier.

Liam and Zayn held their hands up in the surrender gesture, not taking any chances. “Uh, my name is Zayn.” He started, trying to keep his voice steady. “This is my friend Liam.”

“I don’t recognize those names. Are you from the Dryads? Or are you Dodaems?” He asked, lowering his hand.

“Uh, neither…” Liam answered, furrowing his brows. “We’re humans, from the estate just past the woods.”

The man laughed, “Yeah I bet. Good one, except humans are tales for little pixies who don’t go to bed at night. Really, what are you?”

Before either of the boys could answer, the second person began to stir, and Zayn watched as probably the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life sat up. Her pale skin nearly glowed in the moonlight, and her long blonde hair rested well below her shoulder. The other man shrieked, pushing her back down to the ground. “Perrie! Your leaves are gone!” Then he glanced down to himself, letting out another squeal, “My leaves are gone!” He glanced quickly to the boys, high voice echoing around them, “Have you no decency? Offer the lady your coverings!”

Without a second’s hesitation, Zayn ripped off his t-shirt, tossing it to the tanned man, who stood in front of the girl—Perrie, apparently—as she put it on before standing as well. It reached just to her thighs, so it covered up the important things, before she looked up to the two boys in front of her. 

“It’s almost as soft as spider’s silk!” She exclaimed, smoothing it out on her petite form. “How did you afford such a luxury?”

“Um.” Liam looked to Zayn, who seemed to be only capable of staring at the moment. “It’s not too expensive actually. And it’s made out of cotton.”

“What on earth is cotton?” The tan man—who was still naked—snorted. He was about to say something else when Perrie placed a hand over his mouth, quieting him while staring at Liam and Zayn. She narrowed her eyes, stepping forward. She focused on Zayn, then reached her hand out slowly towards him, her fingertips glowing a soft pink.

“What the fuck—“ He gasped, then stopped as she pulled back abruptly, a bright smile on her face as she spun to look at the man.

“Louis, those are humans!” 

Louis narrowed his eyes at her, “Don’t play games, Perrie.”

“I’m not!” She frowned, pointing back to the two boys, who had stood by now. “Eleanor must have bewitched us and sent us into the other world when she sent her magic our way. That must have been her plan for Lessa and Layna, to get rid of them so she could take over.”

“Then how do we get back?” Louis hissed, grabbing both her elbows in his hands. “If we’re here, who knows what could be happening—“ They both stopped, eyes widening. “The ring!” With determination, they jumped past Liam and Zayn, Perrie muttering a small, “Pardon me,” before stopping in the circle.

Louis glanced all around him, “Where is it? Why isn't anything happening?”

Perrie shook her head slowly, looking around her as well. “I’m—I’m not sure. The ring is how they got in, right? And then Eleanor spotted them and tried to kill them, and Lessa stopped them, and then Eleanor tried to get Lessa, but you stopped her…” She trailed off, biting her lip. 

“Um, I hate to break up the conversation.” Liam spoke up, stepping forward, “But if you two can’t get back or whatever, you’re more than welcome to stay with us.”

Louis snorted, turning around with his hands on his hips. “Yes, well, I don’t know how I feel about staying with mythical creatures when the kingdom I love so dearly is in danger.”

“Louis, be nice.” Perrie swatted his arm, then stepped out of the circle with a sigh. “If I remember correctly, the Bridge Ring only opens once on a full moon during times of war. So, we will have to wait until the next one before we can go back. In the meantime, your hospitality is greatly appreciated.” Perrie gave a small curtsy, looking up to Zayn. “My name is Perrie, handmaiden to Princesses Alayna and Alessandra.” She gestured to Louis beside her, who gave a curt bow as she spoke. “This is Captain Louis, and he’s one of the pixies in charge of the army. Which we haven’t really needed since the Great War, so Louis finally found his purpose.”

Louis grinned and gestured to the shield-looking symbol on his side. “It changed the day the Dark Witch showed up. I suspect I’m gonna do something great in this war.” Then his smile faltered, and he kicked at the ground in front of him. “That is, if we ever get back.”

“Well, in the meantime, like Liam said, you’re more than welcome to stay with us.” Zayn told them, then grimaced as he looked to Louis. “Do you want some clothes?”

“Clothes?” Louis asked, narrowing his eyes at him.

Perrie rolled her eyes. “Coverings, Lou. I thought you paid more attention to the tales of humans?”

Louis snorted. “I stopped paying attention to those when I stopped being a child, Perrie. Until now, we thought they were fake, remember? But yes, I would appreciate some clothes.” 

After Zayn persuaded him, Liam gave Louis the second pair of shorts he was wearing, ignoring Louis’ questions of why he had so much coverings on. Louis and Perrie followed Zayn and Liam back towards the estate, both of them very much afraid of the horses they walked by, although Louis tried to pretend he wasn’t. 

“Can we sneak them into the estate, you think?” Zayn whispered as they came closer to the staff quarters. “I don’t know if Niall and Harry should see them yet.”

“Why not?” Liam whispered back, confused. 

Zayn shrugged. “Not sure. I just don’t know how they’d handle it that pixies are actually real?”

“Excuse you, we’re perfectly real.” Louis quipped quietly. “Humans are the ones who aren’t supposed to be real.”

“Right, because small, glowing creatures that can fly and do magic are so much more believable.” Liam rolled his eyes, and Zayn shoved him lightly before turning back to the two people walking behind him. 

“Are you guys hungry at all?” He gestured to the door they were standing by. “We can see if there’s any leftovers from dinner. I think Harry was making some cupcakes as well.” 

“Cupcakes?” Louis brightened up. “Now, that’s something familiar!” Zayn smiled, pushing open the door slowly. He signaled them to be quiet, leading them into the darkened kitchen. To his relief, no one was in the large room, and the counter that took up most of the space was still littered in bits and pieces that Harry must have forgotten to put away after dinner. He flicked the light on, rubbing his arms as the chilly night air had finally gotten to him. He couldn’t even imagine how cold Perrie and Louis must be.

“Ah, cupcakes, the only familiar thing in a sea of madness.” Louis breathed, jumping nimbly past Zayn and Liam to grab at the clear tupperware that held the cupcakes inside. He struggled with it for a moment, then finally managed to pull the lid off and grab a cupcake. He bit into it, sagging into the wooden countertop. “This is absolutely divine. Who made these?”

“I did.”

Everyone spun around, looking back to the entrance where Harry and Niall now stood, confusion written clearly on their faces.

“Well, my compliments to the chef, because this is fantastic.” Louis shot him a thumbs up, taking another large bite.

“Ah, well, thanks.” Harry continued staring at Louis, green eyes troubled. His curly brown hair was pulled back with a bandana, the white sleeves of his shirt scrunched up to reveal muscular forearms. Finally, Niall spoke.

“Zayn, who the hell are these people in our kitchen? And why are all of you half naked?”

Zayn sighed. Leave it to Niall to not sugarcoat things. Louis snorted, “He sounds like Lessa.” Perrie giggled, and Zayn ignored them and turned to Niall and Harry.

“Uh, these are our friends Perrie and Louis. I guess I forgot to tell you they were coming to visit.”

“Uh-huh.” Niall said, hands on his hips and still looking at them suspiciously with his deep blue eyes. “And they showed up, super late at night, making almost no noise, and completely naked?”

Zayn looked to Liam for help, but he only shook his head, going over to the fridge to see what other food he could find. Niall shook his blonde head with a low chuckle, then crossed his arms and looked to Zayn again, “How about the truth this time?”

“Well, you see…” Zayn tried to start, then tried again, “Uh, well, Liam and I, we—“

“We’re Pixies, torn out of our kingdom during a great battle with the Dark Witch Eleanor!” Louis chirped brightly, starting on his third cupcake. “I’m a Captain in the pixie army and Perrie is a handmaiden to the princesses. Apparently when we were sent to your world, our coverings didn’t come with us, so we had to borrow some of Zayn and Liam’s. They call them clothes, isn’t that silly?”

Harry and Niall gaped openly at Louis, looking at him as if he were spewing nonsense. Which it probably sounded like that to them.

“Okay, look, I know this sounds crazy—“ Zayn interrupted, but Niall cut in.

“Damn right it sounds crazy. Fucking mental.” Niall looked at Zayn hard. “You picked up two naked nut jobs out in the woods? What were you thinking?” 

Harry had moved around the table, staring at Louis like he was about to disappear and fly away at any minute. Zayn sighed, “No, he’s telling the truth, Ni. Remember all those stories my grandmother used to tell us?”

“Yeah, stories, right.” Niall agreed. “The fictional tales.”

“Well, they’re not so fictional.” Liam told him tiredly, leaning on the fridge and picking at the stew he had found. 

“Liam and I were out in the woods your dad told us to stay out of, and I kind of fell into a faerie ring.” Zayn told him, ignoring Louis’s correction of, “It’s the Bridge Ring, we aren’t stupid Faeries,” and continuing to explain. “We saw some weird battle, and then a witch shot something at them, and now they’re stuck in our world. So we offered to have them stay with us until they can go back.” He paused, watching Niall and he just stared at him. Harry continued offering Louis various pastries, which he took with delight. “Look, I know this is really hard to believe. I don’t think even I’ve fully processed it yet. But it’s the truth, I swear.”

Niall watched him for another moment, then sighed. “Dad always said to stay out of there. Said it was like the fuckin’ Bermuda Triangle. But alright, alright. We’ll go with this.” He looked over to Perrie, then back to Zayn. “You didn’t offer her clothes yet? What kind of gentleman did your parents raise you to be?” Zayn’s face cracked into a grin and Niall stepped around him, walking over to Louis and Perrie and asking them if they wanted him to go grab some clothes for them. Zayn responded by telling them that they were just going straight to the guest bedrooms after they were done eating, and he and Liam led them across the short walk through the lawn and into the house.

“This house is almost the size of the palace.” Perrie said quietly, staring at the high ceilings. “Are you royalty in this world?”

“Might as well be.” Niall snorted somewhere behind them, and Liam smiled. “No, Zayn’s just from a wealthy family. Niall, Harry and I all work for him.”

“Are you his handmaiden then?” Louis asked Liam, making Harry giggle. 

Liam rolled his eyes, “Yeah, sure, I guess you could say that.” They turned up the large wooden staircase, and Zayn pointed to his sister’s old room. “Perrie, you can stay in here. My sisters left some clothes in the wardrobes and closets, and you’re welcome to anything that fits. Louis, you’re across the hall in the guest bedroom, and I’ll have Liam grab you some of our clothes that you can wear. Is that alright?”

“More than alright.” Perrie laughed, looking at her room. “This room is huge!”

“Much better than the army barracks.” Louis agreed, stepping into the space. “Careful Zayn, I just might get used to living like this.”

Zayn smiled, then excused him and Liam to head back downstairs where Niall and harry were waiting on the patio outside of the day room.

“So they’re pixies.” Niall started with, and Zayn nodded, leaning on the railing. Niall let out a deep breath, leaning beside him. “Malik, you’ve got yourself in a right mess this summer. How long till they can go back?”

“Perrie said the next full moon.” Zayn answered, running a hand down his face.

“Yeah, I bet you don’t mind she’s gotta stay a while.” Liam smirked, and Harry and Niall laughed at the blush that covered Zayn’s face.

“Oi, Harry, why are you laughing?” Niall cackled, “You were lookin’ at that Louis guy like he was an angel descended from heaven itself!”

Harry shrugged, blushing as well. “I dunno, he’s fit, right? For a pixie?”

Niall laughed even harder at that, and Zayn shook his head. “Go to bed, we’ll sort this out in the morning.” He sauntered off, leaving behind Niall’s wild laughter and Harry’s desperate attempts to defend himself against Niall’s teasing. He passed by Perrie’s door, mind wandering back to when he had first seen her. The moonlight was hitting her just right, and he was positive she was the most beautiful girl he’d seen. With a sigh, he changed out of his clothes and slumped onto his bed. Just what had he gotten himself into?

 

 

Sunlight was streaming into Zayn’s drawing room in the early morning, providing the perfect amount of lighting as he diligently painted the scenes that had been flashing through his dreams all night. Using his watercolors and sometimes his pastels, his quick stokes marked down the orbs on the paper, blending gently to capture the way they had glowed. With practiced ease, he drew the witch on another canvas, harder brushstrokes defining her sharp features. And on yet another canvas, working as softly as if he were drawing with a feather, he captured Perrie’s petite hand, reaching out to him as it glowed a soft pink color, the rosiness spreading around her fingertips in gentle swirls.

“That’s beautiful.”

Zayn started, head snapping over to where Perrie stood in the doorway, watching him. With an apologetic smile, she walked forward, sitting beside him on the ground and looking to the painting. “That’s my hand, yeah?”

Zayn nodded, looking down to the splashes of color he had on his little tray in front of him. “Yeah. How’d you make your hand glow like that?”

She smiled, “I have certain talents, like most other pixies. And when I use those talents, I glow.”

“So when you’re normal pixie size, that’s the color of your orb?” He asked.

“My—what?” She looked at him, brow furrowed.

“Uh, when you were normal pixie size, and you were flying around, you were just glowing. You were this orb of pink light.”

Perrie stared at him a moment longer, then laughed when realization dawned on her face. “Oh! You mean my aura!” She laughed a bit more, “Yes, yes. Pink is the color of my aura. Every pixie’s is different depending on which abilities they have.”

“I didn’t see any other pink pixies.” Zayn looked back down at his hands, embarrassed. “Why are you pink?”

“Ah, so you’re observant as well as artistic.” She smiled, looking to his painting. “My powers are deeply rooted within the earth, and it’s a focus on the beauty of things themselves. I see the beauty in many things and strive to create more beauty in the world through many art forms. That’s why I’m a handmaiden to the royal family, because of what I can create.”

“And Louis is blue, correct?” Zayn asked, caught up in her voice and the way she spoke.

She nodded, “Yes. Most of the warriors are red, because of their passionate characters. However, most of the leaders in our society have blue auras, because it reflects the serenity of being able to think clearly, like being mentally strong.” She snorted, “Although Louis is the least serene pixie I know.”

He laughed with her, “Yeah, I could have guessed as much.” They were quiet for a bit, then Zayn set his paintbrush and supplies down. “Let’s go down to the kitchens, I bet Harry has something good cooked by now.” Perrie stood with him, following quietly down the stairs. As they walked out the door and across the yard, Zayn tried to tell himself he was imagining Perrie glowing as she looked around at everything. He smiled to himself, opening the door to the kitchen.

“I don’t know how you people do it.”

Zayn paused in the doorway, Perrie stopping beside him as they watched Louis. He was perched on the island, legs criss crossed beneath him as he watched Harry chop fruit up.

“It’s not that hard, Louis.” Harry smiled, scraping the halved strawberries into the large bowl beside him. “You just cut off the leaves and slice ‘em in half.”

“Yeah, well I would have lost a finger by now. I’m hopeless with knives.” Louis responded, reaching into the bowl to pull out a strawberry and ignoring Harry’s sounds of protest.

“I see you’re up early, Lou.” Perrie greeted as she walked past Zayn. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Couldn’t sleep.” He shrugged. “So I came down to the kitchens and Harry was up already cooking. So I decided to bother him.” He reached for another strawberry and Harry slapped his hand away, moving to cut up some watermelon as Louis pouted at him.

“I couldn’t sleep either.” Perrie was more polite and sat in a stool at the nearby table, Zayn sitting next to her. “Kept thinking about the girls, wondering what’s happened.”

Louis nodded, and that was the moment that Niall chose to burst through the door, face red. “Woo, it’s gonna be a hot one today. Got the stables cleaned early so it didn’t stink to high heaven later.” He reached for a piece of melon, and Harry shoved his hand away.

“You barbarian!” Harry laughed, “Go wash your hands first.”

Niall grinned, looking back over his shoulder as he reached the sink. “When’s breakfast gonna be ready? I’m starvin’.” 

Harry glanced over his shoulder to the oven, and Louis finally managed to get another strawberry while he was distracted. “Uh, casserole should be out in a couple minutes. It’s that egg and bagel one that Liam loves.”

“That sounds perfect.” Zayn muttered, standing to go over to the sink as well. His hands were covered in paint from this morning, and he wanted to enjoy his meal with clean hands.

The oven buzzed just as Liam walked in, and he sniffed the air with a smile on his face. “What’d you make today, Haz?”

“Haz?” Louis giggled, and Harry shot him a not-very-threatening smile as he pulled the casserole out. “Your favorite!”

“Perfect.” He groaned, sliding into his usual seat after rinsing off his hands. “I finally finished the hedges that I never got done yesterday.” He shot a look to Zayn, “So thanks for that.”

Zayn smiled, “Not my fault we fell into a faerie ring.”

“Actually, it is your fault.” Liam countered, and then Louis let out a huge groan.

“For the last time, we aren’t faeries!” He glared at Zayn, and Perrie rolled her eyes, muttering a low, “Here we go…”

“Faeries are these uppity little wasps who think they’re so much better just because they’re all beautiful and never have to worry about anything.” He snapped. “They’re right snot, is what they are. Oh, look at me, my wings are three times the size of my body, I’m so beautiful. Ugh.” Everyone stared at him, and he rolled his eyes. “We’re pixies. Not faeries. And that thing you stepped into is the Bridge Ring. Get it right, you mothball.”

“Louis!” Perrie gasped, and Louis stuck his tongue out at her.

Harry shook his head with a sigh. “Right…Anyways.” He stepped forward, carrying the plates in one hand and the casserole in the other. “Breakfast is ready, but be careful, it’s still hot. Here’s some fruit as well, if Louis didn’t eat all of the strawberries.”

The smaller man smiled brightly, hopping off of the counter top. “It’s not my fault. I love strawberries, but I’ve never been able to eat a whole one before. Now I can eat forty!”

“I dunno about forty, mate.” Niall chuckled, and Louis grinned at him, “Is that a challenge?”

Surprisingly, breakfast went well enough, and they learned more about the pixies as they talked. Apparently, they still had their powers, as Perrie demonstrated when she sculpted some whipped cream into the shape of a flower for Louis. And later, when Harry asked him what he should make for dinner, Zayn swore he began glowing the bright blue color from earlier as he advised Harry on what to make. While those powers were still in tact, they couldn’t fly, as their wings wouldn’t appear. Perrie still sat and watched Zayn paint and sketch (often drawing her) and helped him with lines for his stories when he got stuck. Louis took to hanging around Harry in the kitchens or helping Liam out around the grounds. He avoided the horses as thoroughly as possible.

The three weeks went by smoothly, Zayn slowly teaching Perrie and Louis more about human life and them teaching the boys more about their world. Unfortunately for Louis, this meant Niall taught him every swearword he knew, and Louis was all too happy to start saying them.

The pixie world was ruled by two sisters, who were Queens with equal power. When the Queens were near 800 years old, they had another daughter, to take their place when they died at age 1000. According to Perrie, pixies only lived to be 1000, and Harry’s eyes nearly fell out of his head when Louis announced he was 436. Perrie was only 327, and they said their princesses were a mere 197 and 196.

“That must mean they’re taking over soon, yeah?” Liam asked, completely intrigued. He had really taken to the stories, diligently going into Zayn’s grandmother’s library after his chores for the day were done. One day, he even called Zayn’s grandmother to ask about the stories she used to tell. She was all too happy to oblige, ending the conversation with a knowing, “You boys enjoy yourselves, but don’t eat any of their food.” She hung up before Liam could ask what she meant.

Perrie slowly began to ease up around them, losing her strict politeness the longer she hung out with them. And as she began to relax more, Zayn found himself falling even harder. More often than not, his sketches were of her, and the things she was teaching him. She taught him more about what the auras meant, showed him how she could mold any object into something, told him stories about working in the palace.

“So does she look something like this?” Zayn asked one night, holding up a picture he had drawn of the princess after listening to Perrie tell the story of how she had destroyed the royal banquet when she was only five years old.

Perrie giggled, “Yes, but that’s the wrong princess.” Zayn’s brow furrowed, turning it back around so he could look at it, and Perrie scooted closer beside him to look over his shoulder.

“You said she had green eyes and freckles, though. And dark hair.”

Perrie nodded, “Yeah, but look how kind you made her features. You drew Alayna. She may be the younger one, but she’s years older in her thoughts. Alessandra is more playful. Here.” She reached out a finger, ghosting over the colored pencil drawing. Her soft pink glow reflected off of the paper, and Zayn watched in amazement as the hair color lightened, the freckles lessened, and the eyes faded into a dark brown. “And this is Alessandra.” Next to his sketch, Perrie made a second figure appear who looked a lot like the first. Except her facial expression was more playful, a mischievous glint in her green eyes that seemed to come alive on the paper. Dark brown curls cascaded around her face, and Zayn couldn’t help but feel like Perrie was showing off.

“How do you draw like that?”

“I told you, it’s part of my gift.”

“No, like, so well. It’s incredible.” Zayn held the sketchpad further back so he could admire it better. “I’ve seen artists who are 80 years old who are nowhere near this good.”

“Well, that’s because they’re only 80 years old.” Perrie responded, winking at him. Zayn laughed, setting his hand on her leg, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Perrie was frozen under his touch, and after a moment, slowly began to relax before leaning onto his shoulder completely. Zayn smiled to himself, still looking at the drawing. “Alessandra kinda looks like Louis.”

“Well, they are best friends.” Perrie snorted. “There’s thousands of stories that those two have caused.”

“Tell me one?” Zayn asked, nuzzling her hair quietly. If anything, he just wanted to keep listening to her speak, keep her here.

Perrie smiled against his shoulder, reaching to intertwine their fingers. “Well, there was this one time. It was right before Alessandra was to be crowned princess, and I had woven the most beautiful white dress. Well, making it white was my first mistake…”

Down in the kitchens, Harry and Louis were another story. Harry was constantly spellbound by Louis, hanging on his every word with a giant grin on his face. He loved the smaller boy’s stories, the way he teased Harry, practically everything. Whatever Harry was doing, Louis was constantly on the counter, in the way, poking fun at the size of human food.

“Where I come from, young Harold—“

“It’s Harry.”

“Shut up, Hazza. Now, where I come from, strawberries are probably the size of your animals you call pigs…”

It wasn’t long before Harry was more than fond of the boy, he had a full on crush. Harry loved the way he spoke, his soft giggles at night, the way his lips were almost permanently stained red with how many strawberries he ate. 

“I wish strawberries were always this size.” Louis sighed as he popped yet another into his mouth, sleeves falling down around his wrists as he practically swam in Harry’s sweater. 

“They are, Lou.” Harry told him with a smile as he prepared the potatoes for tomorrow’s breakfast. It was going to be a big breakfast, to hold them over until dinner. They always had to get two days work done tomorrow, because it was the summer solstice, and the boys always celebrated it by getting ridiculously drunk that night.

“Not for me.” Louis pouted, watching Harry peel the potatoes, back towards him. He sighed, watching the man’s shoulders. To be honest, Louis had never been attracted to another man before. Or anyone, for that matter. He was always the funny guy, flying solo, only there to tease Alessandra and help cause mayhem while also rising seamlessly through the ranks in the army through his wit and strategy. He had never been attracted to the other pixies that had passed him by, never felt more than a friendship bond (save for Alessandra, Alayna and Perrie. But that was different). 

And now here was this boy—a human boy no less—who was causing a fluttering in his heart and tightness in his chest that he had only ever experienced through someone else’s poem or story. And this boy was so awkward and quirky about it that it was almost becoming too much to bear. Louis was never known to be a very patient pixie.

“Hazza.” He said, letting out a deep breath.

“Yeah, Lou?” He said, not turning around.

“Turn around.”

Harry turned around immediately, sensing the seriousness in Louis’ voice. He set the knife and potato down, confused. “Something wrong?”

Louis smiled at him, shaking himself out of his train of thought, and kicking his feet as they dangled. “Nope, just wanted to look at you. Missed your face.”

Harry smiled, relaxing. “Missed yours as well, Lou.”

Louis watched him for a moment more, studying the boy’s curls and lips and eyes and everything, then cleared his throat. Since when was he this flustered? Harry was definitely not good for his health. “Uh, anyways. You can continue peeling your potatoes now. Where I come from, those are as big as the horses you have in the stables.”

Harry smirked again, turning around slowly. As he restarted his prep, Louis sighed, laying back on the counter. This boy would be the death of him, he was sure of it.

 

 

 

“To the summer solstice!”

“To the summer solstice!” Everyone echoed back, clanking their glasses together above the fire pit. The sun had just finished setting, making the fire reflect warmly onto everyone’s faces as they drank the liquor. Perrie’s face screwed up, letting out a small, “Much stronger than the wine we drink in the castle.”

“Remind you of anything?” Niall nudged Zayn, causing him to laugh.

“Looks like Harry’s face when he tried whiskey the first time.”

“Come on, I wasn’t that bad!” Harry argued, sitting back onto his log. Louis laughed beside him, the sound brightly echoing around the clearing as Louis pulled the blanket closer around his shoulders. The other boys laughed as well, and the night continued, Zayn and them filling each other in on what had happened since he’d been at the estate last. It wasn’t until it was close to midnight that Niall suggested that they go check out the fairy ring.

“It’s a fucking Bridge Ring!” Louis shrieked, and Niall clapped him on the back.

“See! You’re gettin’ better at swearin’ every day!”

Louis groaned, putting his face in his hands, and Liam shrugged to the group. “Why not? Zayn and I remember where it is. Might as well show all you blokes.” With a shared nod, the boys and Perrie stood, all following behind Zayn and Liam as they led them past the pastures and into the woods. Louis intertwined his and Harry’s fingers, muttering a low, “The Bridge Ring isn’t too cool looking. Just some dark grass and mushrooms.”

“Ooo, I should make a mushroom pizza tomorrow night.” Harry said, eyes lighting up as he planned the pizza in his mind. Louis rolled his eyes, but didn’t bother asking what the hell a pizza was. Everything Harry cooked tasted amazing.

“See? It’s not too far back.” Zayn said, pointing at it with his flashlight app on his phone. 

“Don’t get too close, something might come flying at you.” Liam said with a slight smile, scratching at his back that had finally healed.

“Please,” Louis scoffed, “Perrie said the Bridge Ring is only active on full moons. We’ve got another week yet before we have to worry about anything.”

Almost as soon as he had finished speaking, a low rumbling began in the air around them.

“Louis, what were you saying?” Harry squeaked, and Louis stepped in front of him protectively, even though he was an entire head shorter.

The rumbling continued, growing louder and louder every second. With a flash of light so bright it blinded them momentarily, two large thumps were heard, and Zayn dropped his phone in fear, the light turning off.

“What the hell was that!” Niall shouted, hands flinging around wildly in the darkness. “What the hell is happening!”

Zayn dropped to the ground, searching blindly around for his phone while Niall continued shouting.

“Zayn! Zayn, oh God, what happened? What the fuck is going on?”

“Will whoever’s shouting in such a shrill voice kindly shut their trap?” An unfamiliar female voice snapped, and Perrie and Louis gasped at the same time. Zayn, finally finding his phone, turned the flashlight on once again, shining it in front of him—

—And onto two girls, barely clothed, in front of them.

“You!” One shouted, shielding her eyes. “Put down your lantern! How on earth is that infernal thing so bright?”

“Lessa!” Louis shouted, dropping Harry’s hand. The girl looked up, frowning, and Zayn’s mouth dropped open. He had a sketchbook at home covered in drawing of her as he worked to replicate Perrie’s drawing. Not only that, but he had quite a few drawings of the girl standing next to her as well.

“Louis?” She whispered, then her face lit up in happiness. “Lou! Oh, Lou, you’re alive!” She bounded forward, jumping on him as his arms wrapped around her, spinning her around.

“Layna! Princess Alayna!” Perrie squealed, running forward as well. She threw herself at the other girl, who was trembling in her arms.

“Perrie, oh God Perrie.” She cried, burying her face in the girl’s shoulder. “Perrie, Eleanor came after us and we couldn’t get away!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Perrie whispered, smoothing down Alayna’s hair. “It’s okay, you’re safe here, I promise.”

“Perrie, Louis…” Alayna stepped back from the hug, looking to Zayn, who still was shining his light at them. “Where are we?”

“More importantly, why have I never seen these boys before?” Alessandra lifted an eyebrow, and Harry immediately felt himself blush in response to the suggestive look she gave him.

“You’re in the human world, Lessa.” Perrie told her quietly, gesturing to the ring behind them. “The witch must have sent you through the Bridge Ring like she did to us.” 

“These humans have let us stay with them for the time being, until the next full moon so we can go back.” Louis added, pointing at the boys behind them. Alessandra looked over his shoulder, and frowned at Zayn.

“You.”

Zayn’s eyes widened, “Um, I can turn the flashlight off, if it’s bothering you—“

“Stop talking.” She ordered, stalking forward. Liam and Niall both stared at the thin scrap of cloth covering her top and the piece around her waist, if you could even call that a skirt. But her sister was dressed the same, and they looked good even dressed like that, so Niall and Liam didn’t say anything.

“I recognize you.” She said, stopping in front of him and eyeing him up and down. “But it wasn’t you I met.”

“What?” Zayn asked, and Perrie piped up, “The royals can recognize bloodlines. Part of their powers.”

“Your grandmother met the pixies, did she not?” Alessandra asked, eyes still narrowed. Alayna remained quiet, watching her older sister with curiosity. Zayn nodded, and Alessandra’s face finally cracked into a smile. “I remember her. She was very kind to us, a friend to all mythical creatures. She and her grandmother before her are the reason we have any tales of humans at all.” She gave Zayn a once over before smirking, “And I see you are here to follow suit.”

“Princess, would you like to stay with us for a while?” Niall asked quietly, and Alessandra’s head snapped around to look at him. His eyes widened at her glare, and he bowed immediately, Harry following suit, “Uh, your highness.”

Alessandra burst out laughing, Louis quickly following suit. “Oh Gods, yes. I completely approve of your entourage. This is the son of the stable hand, is it not? And the groundsmen’s nephew?” Niall and Liam quickly nodded, and she turned to Harry. “I do not recognize your bloodline. Are you the first of your family to set foot on this hallowed ground?”

Harry nodded, but before he could say anything, Alayna snorted, “Lessa, how much longer are you going to keep this up for?”

“Keep what up, dear sister?” Alessandra looked innocently to her sister, and Louis began laughing.

“Aw, come on, Layna. It’s fun to see them think our Lessa is a dignified being!”

“Excuse you, I am plenty dignified!” Alessandra laughed, shooting a harmless purple spark Louis’ way. She turned back to the boys, a broad grin on her face, and Zayn immediately recognized the playful smirk that Perrie had drawn.

“I promise, I’m not all prim and proper.” She laughed again, “Just practicing for when I take over in three years. I’m gonna have to be boring and polite all the time.”

“The day you’re boring and polite is the day I resign from my post.” Louis snorted, and Alessandra grinned again.

“So, should we head back to the house?” Liam suggested. “I can imagine you guys must be freezing.”

“Ah, a bit.” Alayna shrugged, and Perrie put an arm around her. “Shall we?” The boys nodded and began leading the way back, and Liam walked alongside Zayn, muttering, “No wonder your grandmother has so many guest rooms.”

Harry looked to Louis with a lost expression on his face, “How am I going to cook for all these people?”

Louis shrugged, slinging an arm around his waist, “Just keep cutting up those fruits, and I promise you’ll make us happy. Hey, Lessa!” Louis spun around, “Did you know here you can eat five strawberries in one handful?”

 

 

 

That night was like a reunion party, with Alessandra and Alayna filling in Louis and Perrie on what all had happened since they had disappeared. Alayna insisted on sleeping in the same room as Perrie, and to Liam’s delight, Alessandra was staying in the last room in the hall, which was right next to his much much smaller one. Perrie had brought them pajamas (“Pajama? That’s a funny word.” “Niall would say it’s fucking weird.” “Right you are, Louis.”) and helped them get ready for bed, and Liam and Zayn had watched in amazement. Niall and Harry were already in the staff quarters for the night, and Liam was about to retire when a shout made him sprint next door to Alessandra’s room.

“Princess, what’s wrong?” He asked, breathless, and she giggled, on her hands and knees in the corner. 

“Liam! Come look at this!” She waved her hand, beckoning him over, and he obeyed, settling on his knees beside her in the dark corner.

“Um, your highness, what are we looking at?”

“Lessa.”

“What?”

“Call me Lessa. I’m too short to be your highness.”

Liam smirked, “Alright, Lessa. What are we looking at?”

“Look how tiny this ladybug is.”

Liam squinted and bent closer, and in fact, there was a ladybug in the corner of the room. Lessa continued, “They’re much bigger where I’m from. They’re about the size of a—what was that furry thing that Niall was petting? The thing with whiskers?”

“A cat?”

“Yeah, they’re like the size of a small cat. Some of the earth pixies keep them as pets.” 

Liam sat back, watching her watch the ladybug. The pixies must not be very big at all, then. Maybe as tall as a water bottle? He shook his head, regretting trying to imagine what life would be at that size. It was insane.

“We need to take it outside. It’s not happy.” Alessandra frowned, sticking her finger in front of the bug so it would climb on.

“How can you tell it’s unhappy?” He asked, following suit when she stood and began walking to the balcony, opening the door for her.

“I can sense emotions in other living creatures.” She answered simply, holding her finger up so that the ladybug could open its wings and fly away. “It’s an ability the royal pixies have. It’s what enables us to become such good leaders.” She crossed her arms and leaned onto the balcony, watching the tiny creature fly away into the night. Liam stayed just a step behind, watching her. 

She was wearing an old t-shirt of Zayn’s sister’s, and Liam’s sweatpants. She refused to wear the shorts that Perrie and Alayna were wearing, insisting on something “cuddly and warm” to sleep in. Louis had suggested an old cocoon, but Liam had to inform them they didn’t have any at the moment. So, his old baggy sweatpants were as close as they could come.

“Just like I can tell that you’re more curious than anything else.” She said quietly, smirking at him over her shoulder. “Well, among other things.” With a wink, she turned back to looking at the night sky, and Liam finally joined her, staring up at the moon. Oh boy. He’d have to learn to control himself if she could tell what he was feeling at any given moment.

“One week.” She whispered, the tiniest of frowns clouding her features. Liam watched her, staring into her green eyes as they looked upwards. 

“One week before I can see if my people have survived.”

And one week for Liam to try and stop himself from falling headlong into this hopeless crush.

 

 

 

“That’s the best I’ve slept in weeks.” Alessandra groaned the next morning, hopping up to sit next to Louis on the kitchen counter. She took a deep breath in, then turned to smile at Harry. “No wonder he spends so much time here, it smells amazing.”

“Thanks, Lessa.” Harry beamed, turning back to washing the blackberries. He glanced out of the window, watching Alayna learn to feed the horses with Niall.  
“They’re so big!” Alayna giggled once again, eyes wide as the large creature tossed its head.

Niall laughed right along with her, hand settling over hers and putting his other hand on the small of her back to help guide the bucket towards the horse. “Just go steady. They’re big softies, the lot of ‘em. Just be nice to them and they’ll be nice to you.” The horse leaned its head into the bucket, and Alayna giggled again as it made soft munching noises.

Alessandra and Alayna slid more easily into their human lifestyle, and Liam guessed it was because they had Perrie and Louis to help translate everything. Halfway through the week, Harry saw once again the marking on Louis’ side that looked much like a tattoo, and when asked about it, Louis said the princesses would be able to give a better explanation.

“They’re destiny marks.” Alessandra said, perched on the windowsill as everyone sat around for dinner. Liam was helplessly endeared as he observed her, laughing when he noticed the similarities between Louis and Alessandra. He and Zayn shared a lot of qualities, and they’d only been friends for a little over ten years. He couldn’t imagine what it’d be like being best friends with someone for over 180 years.

“Everyone’s born with a sort of intricate design on their side.” Alayna continued. “They’re very tangled in upon themselves and detailed. In fact, they look a lot like the picture Niall has of the Celtic Knot in the barn. Only the elders can really see what the symbols will turn out to be before they change. They do so right before you’re about to discover your destiny.”

“Take Louis’, for example.” Alessandra pointed at her friend, sitting on the countertop next to a leaning Harry. “His changed the day that the witch showed up into a shield design. So his destiny and life’s purpose will probably reveal themselves at some point in the war.”

“And some pixie’s aren’t as huge and life altering. Like mine, or the palace cook’s.” Perrie added on. “Ours both changed the day we got hired by the castle. His is a flower petal cake, which incidentally is his best dish.”

“Perrie’s is gorgeous.” Alayna gushed. “It’s a beautiful flower with sparkles and swirls and it’s absolutely the prettiest one I’ve ever seen.”

“What’s yours like?” Niall asked, curious. He shoveled more potatoes onto his plate, and Louis shot Harry a thumbs up out of the corner of his eye. Another dinner well advised.

“Nothing too cool.” She blushed, absentmindedly scratching at her side where the design was imprinted. “It’s just a fancy crown. It changed the day I became princess, so it probably just means I’ll be a good queen during my reign. Most of the royal pixies have crowns like mine.”

“Does Lessa have that?” Liam asked, looking from one sister to another.

“Nope!” She answered, popping the ‘p’ with an annoyed look on her face. “Mine hasn’t changed yet, so I’ll probably be a shitty queen.”

“Wey hey! Look at the princess picking up the local lingo!” Niall cheered, leaning across the table to give her a high five as he laughed and she grinned at him.

“Not only that, but she’s got a shitty aura as well.” Louis snorted, and Alessandra laughed, “It’s faulty! It doesn’t work right! I’m damaged goods!”

“That’s not true!” Perrie protested, frowning at both of them. “Just because your aura has a couple other colors doesn’t mean it’s faulty.”

“Your aura has more than one color?” Zayn asked, confused. Harry frowned, “I thought Perrie told us that each pixie had one color based on their abilities.”

Alessandra snorted, “That’s true. And I am purple, mostly. But every once in a while little orange bursts fly out of me, and no one has any idea what the fuck orange means.”

“I taught her that word.” Niall whispered to Liam proudly, who only shook his head.

“The elders told me not to worry about it.” She finished with a shrug, “So whatever. Harry, is there anything for dessert?”

“Is there anything for dessert?” Louis repeated, looking to Harry. “Harry, she just asked if there was anything for dessert. Please!” Alessandra laughed, hopping off the windowsill to follow behind Harry and Louis, ignoring the looks that Zayn and Liam were giving Alayna and Perrie.

“It’s a soft spot with her. She thinks she won’t be a good queen or the pixies won’t like her because her aura is faulty, so it hits on kind of a personal level.” Alayna explained quietly. “She usually refuses talk about it, I’m surprised she let Louis bring it up without trying to strangle him.”

As if on cue, Louis let out a high pitched squeal, crying out, “That’s not what the rolling pin is for! Hazza, help! My princess is attacking me!” Harry only laughed in response.

 

 

 

“Okay okay, so Louis is blue because he’s a quick thinker?”

Alessandra nodded, a small smile on her face as she stared up at the moon. They were on the little ledge outside of Liam’s room, perched on the roof. He came out here to think often at night, and the only reason Alessandra had known about it was because she had come looking for him and found him out here. He wasn’t too upset though, she was pleasant company. 

“Yeah. That’s what we hear, at least.” She giggled again, pulling her knees closer to her.

“What color do you think Harry would be, then?”

“Pixie’s colors don’t depend on their mate, Liam.” She snorted, and Liam’s head turned quickly to look at her.

“I didn’t—I mean—Not like that, I just…”

“I think they’re cute together, though. Louis needs someone like him in his life.” She laid backwards, not looking at Liam as she continued. “A good balance. He’s so hyper and loud that he needs a quiet friend. I’m afraid I’ve only added to that personality of his.” She finished with a mock sigh, and Liam looked back out to the grounds, the grass almost silver in the moonlight.

“Harry would definitely be a yellow pixie, however. A real light yellow, because he’s so good.”

“Why yellow?” Liam looked back to her, watching as she looked upwards.

“Yellow is the color of passion for pixies. It’s the most common aura. It just means that he’s gonna love whatever he ends up doing, and he’s always gonna follow his heart. And it seems like he really loves cooking here for you guys.”

Liam nodded, a small smile. “Yeah, he’s always been excited about it, even when we were younger.” They stayed silent for a while, looking at their surroundings. Liam was trying not to remember that she could tell whatever he was feeling at that moment.

“You’d probably be green.”

Liam’s brow furrowed. “Isn’t that the healers? Like the earth pixies?”

Alessandra laughed quietly. “Yeah. But that’s basically what you’re doing here, right? Taking care of everyone and making sure everything runs smoothly?” Liam remained quiet, and she smirked again. “Yeah. You’re so dedicated and caring. You’d definitely be green. A nice, deep, dark green. A good green.”

“That’s awfully specific of you.”

“I’m good at guessing. I can read people pretty well, remember?”

“Is that why you think Harry and Louis are a good match?”

She smiled, this time turning to look at him for a quiet moment. Instead of responding, she grabbed his arm and pulled him downwards, pointing at the moon. “It’s almost full.”

“Yeah.” He said quietly, heart suddenly beating very quickly.

“I’d say I head back tomorrow night, probably.” Came her quiet voice, and Liam frowned. So soon? But she had just gotten here.

“You can come with us, you know. Once the war is over and all, I can come back and get you.” Liam turned his head and found her watching him carefully, green eyes glowing in the moonlight. “And it doesn’t have to be long. Just a short vacation, or something.”

Liam smirked this time, eyes traveling over her face. He didn’t need the abilities of a royal pixie to be able to tell what she was feeling at this moment. “Yeah, that’d be nice. I definitely think we’ll be coming for a visit, if Perrie and Zayn and Louis and Harry keep doing what they’re doing.”

“They’re not the only ones.” Alessandra whispered, and Liam froze. She gave him a look, “I’m talking about Niall and Alayna, duh.” And Liam looked away, looking back to the sky in embarrassment. Why had he even assumed for even a second that they—

Her hand slowly found its way to his, fingers slipping into the spaces between his so that they were holding hands, and she was holding on tightly.

Okay.

“So they aren’t the only ones?” He asked quietly, hope relighting once again in his chest.

With a small laugh, she scooted closer, head leaning on his shoulder. “No, no. There’s one other person that I expect to visit me as often as possible.”

Liam decided he was okay with that.

Down in the kitchens, Louis was watching Harry finish up for the night, putting everything away. He was chewing on his lip, fingers dancing on the countertop beside him. He had one night left before he had to leave his human boy—and yes, he was referring to Harry as his boy now—and he was nervous. Should he say something? Do something? He didn’t want to leave without letting Harry know how he felt. But he also didn’t want Harry to know how he felt. It was a problem for Louis.

“You gonna head up to your rooms now?” Harry asked with a small smile. “Or are you gonna do something crazy on your last night on earth?”

Louis rolled his eyes, hopping down from the counter. “I’ll be back, don’t you worry.”

“The princesses would allow that?”

“Of course.” Louis feel in step beside Harry as they left the kitchen, heading towards the main house. “During times of war or peril, the Bridge Ring only works on full moons. But otherwise, we can come and go at will.”

“So I can expect you to show up for dinner often?” Harry asked fondly, looking down at Louis.

Louis blushed, but attempted to cover it up by quickly saying, “Only if you keep cutting up strawberries for me. I’m only coming back for them, after all.” There was a beat of silence between them as they stopped at the back door, and Louis was studying his bare feet, internal debate roaring in his ears.

“Lou.”

His head snapped up, finding Harry gazing down at him with the smallest of smiles. “Yeah, Harry?”

“You promise you’ll visit often?”

Louis’ brow furrowed. “Of course! As often as I can!”

Then Harry’s smile grew wider. “Good. I can’t imagine trying to make dinner by myself now. Especially without you there eating all of it before it’s ready.” And before Louis could think of something witty to say back, Harry leaned down, pressing the softest of kisses to Louis’ lips. Harry’s hand came to rest of his cheek for just a second, and then he was pulling back, walking backwards towards the staff quarters.

“Goodnight, Lou. See you at breakfast, yeah?”

“Yupp! Bright and early!” Louis squeaked, mind still whirling. He waved back to Harry, then turned and sprinted inside, gasping for breath as if he had just ran a mile.

Well, at least Harry had made that decision for him.

As for Perrie and Zayn, things weren’t much different.

Zayn pulled back with a soft smile, setting his forehead against Perrie’s. She smiled back at him, her cheeks rosy and eyes bright. 

“I almost don’t want you to leave.” Zayn breathed, hands still resting on her hips gently.

She sighed and pressed herself against him, face buried in his chest. “I know. Me neither. But we need to go take care of the kingdom, make sure everyone’s okay.”

“Do you think it’ll all work out well?” He asked, and he felt her shrug.

“Lessa and Louis seem to think we’ll win easily. I’m not so sure. The witch is one of the most powerful beings in any of the realms.” Perrie sighed, holding Zayn tighter. “I’m confident in Alessandra’s ability to lead the army, however much she doubts herself.”

“And I have full faith that you’ll be one of her biggest assets.” Zayn told her, nuzzling the top of her head.

Suddenly, Louis came bounding up the stairs, stopping when he saw them.

“Oh good, so I’m not the only one getting friendly with mythical creatures.” He sprinted past them and down the hall, ignoring their laughs as he knocked on Alessandra’s door.

“Lessa! Open up!” He knocked a couple more times. “Alessandra!”

Liam’s door opened, Alessandra and Liam stepping shyly into the hall. Louis froze, eyes wide, then burst out laughing.

“Great Gods, are we all getting lucky?” He spun around, a disbelieving look on his face. “Where’s Alayna? Lay!”

But there was no sound in her room, and she wasn’t in there when Perrie looked. Instead, Alayna was pressed against Niall’s chest in his room in the servant’s quarters, listening to his heartbeat as his hand traced patterns along her back. They had been laying like this for almost an hour now, neither of them wanting to break the moment.

“Layna? You awake?” He whispered, afraid to disturb her. She’d need her rest for when she went back.

She hummed in response, nestling closer to him in the darkness. He smiled, pulling her more tightly against him. He wouldn’t bother her now. Instead, he placed a gentle kiss against the top of her head and closed his eyes, pretending that she wouldn’t be leaving him tomorrow.

 

 

 

“You guys ready?” Zayn asked in a voice that he hoped didn’t sound as nervous as he was feeling. They were all gathered around the Bridge Ring, just before midnight. He swallowed nervously, trying not to worry. But how could he not? He was about to send his new friends back into a war zone. 

“I guess we are.” Alayna answered, looking to the other pixies around her. Everyone hugged each other, Alessandra promising all of them that they’d return once it was safe. With a few more sad smiles, Alessandra led them into the fairy ring, all of them gathering in a small circle as they waited for the magic to work.

And once again, the low rumbling began in the air.

“That’s not normal.” Alayna whispered, looking to her sister for explanation. Alessandra’s head snapped up, locking eyes with Louis. 

“The witch.” She muttered, “The witch must have messed with the magic of the circle, sending more people back when it wasn’t allowed.” Her eyes widened even more as she looked to her new friends, the rumbling louder than ever before.

“Get back!” She shouted, straining to get her voice heard over the howling wind. “It’s not safe!”

Before any of the boys could move, the flash of light appeared again, and Zayn gasped as he felt a tingling sensation rip throughout his entire body as he was lifted off the ground. There was more wind, more bright lights, and then he was thrown into the grass once again, although this grass was more prickly than he remembered. A few shouts echoed around him, and then all was silent as he tried to catch his breath.

“Great Gods.” He heard Alayna whisper, but wait, shouldn’t she be gone by now?

“Layna, they’re pixies.” Perrie whispered, and Zayn opened his eyes to find Perrie looking down at him, shock written all over her face. Why was she glowing?

“What the fuck happened?” He heard Niall groan, and he sat up, only to freeze at the sight before him.

“What the fuck are you staring at me fer?” Niall shouted, pointing at Zayn. “You’re the one who’s got giant wings stuck to his back!”

“You’ve got wings too, dumbass.” Louis snapped back, helping Harry sit up. “All of you do.”

Zayn’s eyes snapped back to Perrie, and he realized with a bit of shock that he was seeing her in her true form. Her wings fluttered behind her slightly, the light, rosy pink swirling behind her in an intricate pattern that reminded him of clouds during a sunrise. He looked to Alessandra and Alayna, whose purple wings were bigger than anyone else’s. Alayna’s light purple, almost lavender, and very delicate looking, stretched almost two feet above her head. Alessandra’s, however, looked more like a butterfly’s, the deep purple color looking like it had been painted on in hasty strokes. And like he remembered her telling him earlier, along with her purple aura, soft spots of orange floated around her.

Just over his shoulder, he could see his own wings, mostly black with a deep pink scattered throughout, and he almost smiled at the thought that he and Perrie’s auras matched, even if his was darker.

“Liam, those have got to be the ugliest wings I’ve ever seen.” Niall snorted, and Zayn looked with a fond smile. It didn’t surprise him that Liam’s were plainer than everyone’s, a simpler shape with green around the edges and a soft orange at the center, fading as it went outwards. His yellow aura glowed brighter when he frowned at Niall. 

“At least I have decent sized ones.” Was his response, and Zayn and Louis laughed and Niall’s yellow wings fluttered at the comment. They were small and rounded, almost looking like a bee’s wings. Just behind him, still on the ground, was Harry, whose wings were all tall as him, if not taller, and a wonderful pale yellow that swirled around in almost a candy cane pattern. Louis stood with his hands on his hips, his deep blue wings spiky and threatening looking, and Zayn smiled. His wings definitely fit him.

“Well, welcome to the pixie realm, I guess.” Alessandra said, frowning at them. “Although I’m not entirely sure how you got pulled in with us.”

“I’m guessing the witch screwed up the ring’s energy.” Alayna answered her, dusting herself off. “Speaking of, we need to get to the castle. I don’t like the damage she’s done already.” Everyone stopped the examination of each other’s wings, turning instead to look at the dead plants all around them.

“And I don’t like how quiet it is.” Alessandra agreed. “Come on, let’s go.” Her wings fluttered, lifting her gracefully off the ground, Perrie, Louis and Alayna following suit.

“Wait! Perrie!” Zayn called, “How do we do that?”

Louis sighed, “Babysitting. We’re babysitting now.” Alessandra smirked at him, and they turned back to go help their friends.

After a couple minutes of flying lessons and finding leaves to “cover themselves properly”, they took off in the direction of the castle, silence settling over them as they saw the damage that had been done in their absence.

“The castle will be fine, everyone will be gathered in there.” Perrie flew up to Alayna, gripping her hand tighter when she saw her friend’s frown. Alayna nodded, keeping her face set in a firm line as they continued flying. 

As they grew closer, they began to hear shouting, and when they turned a corner around a rather large rock, Alessandra stopped short, eyes wide in horror.

“She’s still attacking them!”

The witch was sending dark orb after dark orb at the castle, the red and blue pixies buzzing around attempting to deflect them all. Green pixies were everywhere, trying to keep the stronghold in tact. Liam looked to Alessandra and Louis, who both looked ready to kill her.

“How dare she.” Alessandra growled, and before anyone could stop her, she and Louis zipped forward at a blinding speed, heading straight for the witch.

As if she were able to sense them, Eleanor turned around, a deep cackle echoing around the clearing. “Ah! The princesses have returned! Good, I have something special for you.” With a wave of her hand, dark orbs were sent flying their way, and Perrie and Alayna quickly moved everyone out of the way before they were hurt.

Echoing cries of, “Princess! The princesses have returned! The princesses are here!” were ringing around the hollow, pixies all cheering as Alessandra sent a white orb out, hitting Eleanor in the face.

The boys and Alayna quickly joined the other pixies working to fight and distract Eleanor while Perrie went to make sure everyone in the castle was okay. Eleanor deflected everything easily, as if this were nothing but a game to her. This continued for minutes, and Louis was turning around to prepare for another attack when he saw Harry, helping an injured pixie out of the way, about to be hit with a large dark orb.

“Harry! No!” He shouted, diving forwards before he thought about it. He shoved Harry and the other pixie out of the way, the dark orb slamming into his body and sending him flying backwards before landing on a dead tree branch, gasping for air.

“Louis!” Harry called, and everyone stopped to look.

“Louis, no!” Alessandra shrieked, flying over to him with the other boys not far behind. “Louis!” She kneeled beside him, watching in open horror as Harry held the smaller boy in his lap, tears threatening to spill.

“Louis, why’d you do that?” Harry asked, clutching onto him tightly.

“That was my purpose, Haz.” Louis wheezed out, a fading smile on his face. “To shield you.”

“Liam, do something!” Alessandra yelled, glaring up at the boy.

“What am I supposed to do?” He asked, exasperated.

“You were supposed to be a healer!” She cried, holding onto Louis’ hand tightly. “You were supposed to be green, not fucking yellow! You were supposed to help him!”

“Lessa, I can’t.” He told her, voice cracking. With an angry growl, Alessandra grabbed him, yanking his hand downwards and wrapping it around Louis’.

As soon as the two made contact, Alessandra began glowing orange, her aura slowly engulfing the two boys. Liam gasped, the tingling feeling flowing through his body again. Just as Louis’ blue aura began to fade, he suddenly took on the orange color, glowing brighter and brighter before his eyes snapped open, and everyone watched in amazement as he sat up, glowing the purest white anyone had ever seen before. 

Liam jumped back, looking down at his own hands as the orange aura around him faded into a light green. He only stared for a moment before he noticed Alessandra slumping forward, the orange fading back into a purple.

“Lessa, your mark.” Niall gasped, watching as the dark knots on her side slowly untangled themselves and shifted into a star, glowing all on its own.

She looked up, exhausted in Liam’s arms, smiling at Louis. “Knew I’d be good for something someday. Go get her, Lou.”

Louis, still brightly glowing, only nodded, his face set in a determined line. He looked to Haz, seeming to debate something, then whispered, “Fuck it,” and threw himself forward, crushing the other boy under his kiss. He pulled back with a smirk, “Don’t make dinner without me, Haz.” Then he flew into the air, heading straight for Eleanor.

“Hey! Evil Bitch!” He shouted, and Niall, still down below, smirked, “That’s my boy.”

The witch turned around, confused, and Louis waved at her. “It was nice knowing you!” He spread his arms wide, and in between his outstretched hands, a white orb, larger than any other orb Zayn had seen since coming to this realm, was forming. Eleanor’s eyes widened, and she began backing away, shaking her head. Louis dove toward her, she screamed, and then there was another bright flash of light that spread out from the collision point, encompassing everything.

When it finally died down, and Zayn looked up, an old, gnarled tree stood where Eleanor had once been, and a triumphant Louis was zipping around it, screaming in triumph.

“Liam.” Alessandra said quietly, finally regaining her strength, “You need to go to the tree. You can heal the land.”

“You’re coming with me, your highness.” He smirked, gathering her in his arms gently and flying them over to stand on one of the branches. He set her down and she stood beside him, looking to the pixies that were slowly began to creep out of the castle.

“Pixies!” She called, voice now strong and echoing around the hollow. Alayna and the other boys landed beside her as she held out her hands, addressing them all. “Together, we have overcome a great evil. Thanks to the help of these humans, our realm will once again know peace. And for that, we rejoice!” The pixies all cheered, and she turned to look at Liam, nodding. Taking that as his signal, he placed his hand on the trunk, furrowing his brow as he focused. Something inside of him snapped, and he felt the tingling feeling once again, spreading from his outstretched arm and into the tree.

Everyone watched as the tree’s branches bloomed with pink flowers, and a soft white glow spread outwards from it, reigniting the life in every plant it passed, making everything green and healthy again. Injured pixies found themselves healed, and Louis let out another cheer. Alessandra placed a small kiss on Liam’s cheek, giving him a polite smile.

“You’re coming to the feast, right?” Alayna asked Niall as she stepped over to him, speaking in his ear to be heard over the cheers. “After all, you are one of the guests of honor.”

He beamed at her, pulling her into a tight hug. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

 

 

 

 

Hours later, once the feast had died down (Liam had diligently remembered Zayn’s grandmother’s warning and told everyone not to eat the food) and Louis and Alessandra had shown off their new destiny marks, the original group gathered once again by the pixie circle, sharing smiles and kisses goodbye all around.

“Since we’re no longer at war, you’re welcome to come and go as you please.” Alayna told them, smiling at Niall. “And I think I speak for all of us when I say we expect you to stop by as often as possible.”

“We definitely will be.” Zayn answered, shooting a look at Perrie. “Mostly to help with your committee of human studies, of course.” During the feast, the Queens had created the new position of Ambassadors to the Human Realm, since they had similar positions for their interactions with the faeries, dryads and dodaems. Louis and Perrie were put in charge of the committee, and already, the more scholarly pixies were dying to record their adventures down for the history books.

“And we’ll definitely be stopping by your estate for the strawberries.” Louis added with a smile. “I don’t know how I’m going to get used to eating normal sized fruit again.” The group laughed, and with a few more promises to visit (and Niall giving Alayna just a little bit more than a goodbye kiss) the boys stepped back towards the Bridge Ring, waving. 

Once again, the tingling feeling picked them up off the ground and sent them flying, except this time they landed much more softly back in their own woods.

“Oi, how come we don’t have any clothes on?” Niall asked, looking around in the now-bright forest. Then his eyes widened. “Boys! You’ve got your own destiny marks!” Everyone looked down at their side, looking at the tattoo of the Bridge Ring on their sides.

“That’s a pretty nice rendition of the fairy ring.” Harry commented, fingers tracing lightly over the dark mushrooms.

Zayn, in a perfect imitation of Louis, shouted, “It’s a fucking Bridge Ring!” Everyone laughed, and standing up, quickly found the clothes that had been left behind when they had been transported before. Everyone was sharing their own stories of what had gone on during the feast, and Zayn smiled, watching his best friends in front of him. He turned to glance behind him, watching the opening in the woods growing smaller in the distance. He could swear he saw a pink flash of light zip between the trees, but it was gone before he could really focus on it. With a smirk, he turned back towards the estate, already planning the stories and paintings in his mind.

Also, he had some unfinished business with his grandmother.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you soooooo much for reading this trainwreck!!!
> 
> Find me on tumblr at suchbullshitmuchstraight and please give me feedback. PLEASE.
> 
> also, you can find what their wings look like on my tumblr. 
> 
> [aka this post](http://suchbullshitmuchstraight.tumblr.com/post/80199036496/into-the-garden-and-dont-look-back)
> 
>  
> 
> LOVE YOU SO MUCH THANK YOU


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